My father has told us many stories of his life growing up in LaGrange, Texas. His grandfather, James East, was born into slavery and grew up on the very farm that he later purchased from his "owner" who's last name was East. At that time there were about 500 acres of land. My great-grandfather left the land to his children who began to life the good life and started spending money foolishly. Later leaving them to sell off the land to pay of debts. All except for my dad's father, Thomas East, who held onto his part of the land, which was the area to the front of the property, closest to the highway. To this day family reunions are held every 4th of July on the property. My dad has also told us many stories about joining the army during the 2nd world war and all of the problems he faced as a black man in the US Army. The stories about the land and my grandfather and great-grandfather hold a place in my heart the most, because these stories are part of my beginning! I would love to go back even further and learn more, not only for myself, but for my dad who is 87 years old has so much pride in his family and would be trilled to know his history and I would love for my 2 daughters to know where they come from.

Major corporate funding for African American Lives 2 and its outreach initiatives is provided by The Coca-Cola Company and Johnson & Johnson. Additional corporate funding is provided by Buick.